An LSIS employee shows the energy storage system "EnGather" to a customer at the International Smart Grid Expo in Tokyo earlier this year. / Courtesy of LSIS

By Lee Min-hyung

LSIS is moving to expand into Southeast Asia, focusing on a "microgrid system" that the company believes is suitable for island nations such as Indonesia.

The nation's top manufacturer of electrical components said Sunday that it will showcase microgrid-based energy systems at Southeast Asia's largest electricity exhibition in Jakarta, Indonesia, for four days from Wednesday.

At "Electric, Power & Renewable Indonesia 2015," LSIS will show key technology that allows microgrid systems to be applied to Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Indonesia is expected to become a key market in Southeast Asia, drawing massive investment in the electrical grid sector," said Kim Won-il, vice president of LSIS's convergence business group. "We are seeking to expand our presence in the country's energy market with our information and communications technology (ICT) converged smart grid system."

During the four-day event, LSIS will show its energy storage system (ESS) and energy management system (EMS), which are the building blocks for a microgrid-based ecosystem.

"The microgrid requires the ESS, EMS and a renewable energy source for which we picked solar energy," said a company representative.

The company aims to share its technological expertise in the electric grid sector with the Indonesian archipelago, which consists of more than 18,000 islands.

The company said the microgrid solutions will be a next-generation electricity supply platform, which can connect the power generation source with diverse power systems.

In particular, the company will demonstrate how it applied the microgrid technology to its research and development centers in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Anyang, Gyeonggi Province.

"Our microgrid system can be tailor-made to meet different needs of customers," the company said. "For example, we are seeking to gain a competitive edge by providing different EMSs for factories, buildings and homes."

In June, LSIS CEO Koo Ja-kyun stressed the importance of the microgrid business, saying the new energy system would be key to achieving mutual growth among Asian countries.

"How to manage electric power will be a major challenge for sustainable growth of Asian countries as they are rapidly urbanized and grow in population," he said during a keynote speech at an Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila.

LSIS's microgrid system is in line with the government-led initiative to build "energy-independent islands." In April, amid growing worries over the exhaustion of fossil fuels, the government announced it would invest 4.6 trillion won ($3.87 billion) by 2017 to build energy-sufficient islands that would use only renewable energy sources.

LSIS executives met officials from public institutions and companies in Indonesia in June, forming a partnership to increase investment in the smart grid sector. The upcoming exhibition will accelerate the company's drive to expand its smart grid business into Southeast Asia, it said.

LSIS will also focus on localizing key technologies to build trust in Southeast Asia.

The company was at the center of government-led microgrid projects for three years from February 2010, demonstrating a series of electricity management systems on Marado, the nation's southernmost island.

Seoul National University designated the company as a major business operator in the microgrid sector in July.